Comparisons & Choices
Fuel is the cheapest lever you have over how well your stove performs and how often your chimney needs sweeping. It is also the one most people get wrong, usually by burning wood that looks dry but is not.
Moisture is the whole game
Freshly felled timber can be half water by weight. Burning it means the fire spends its energy boiling that water off instead of heating your room, and the resulting cool, steam-laden smoke condenses tar onto your flue wall. Wood below 20% moisture burns hot, lights easily and keeps the glass clear.
A moisture meter costs very little and removes the guesswork entirely. Split a log and test the fresh face, not the weathered outside.
Species worth having
Dense hardwoods hold more energy per log and burn longer, which is why they are worth the premium for evening heat.
- Ash — burns well and is forgiving; a reliable all-rounder
- Beech — dense and hot, needs thorough seasoning
- Oak — long, steady burn but wants two years or more to season
- Birch — lights readily and burns bright, though faster than the denser hardwoods
- Hawthorn and fruit woods — excellent heat, usually available only in small quantities
Softwoods and the myths around them
Pine and spruce are often written off as tar-producing, but the real culprit is unseasoned timber of any species. Properly dried softwood burns cleanly and is excellent for kindling and getting a fire established quickly. It burns faster and gives less heat per log, so it is a supporting fuel rather than the main event.
Never burn these
Some materials damage the appliance, the flue and the air, and some produce genuinely toxic emissions.
- Treated, painted or preserved timber, including old fence panels and pallets with chemical treatment
- Chipboard, MDF and plywood — the adhesives release harmful compounds
- Driftwood — salt content corrodes stove and flue rapidly
- Household waste, plastics and glossy printed paper
- Anything still visibly damp or freshly cut
Seasoning and storing properly
Split logs before stacking — bark is designed to keep water in. Stack off the ground with air able to move through the pile, cover the top but leave the sides open, and give hardwood at least a year, ideally two. Store the week's supply indoors so it comes up to room temperature before it goes on the fire.
Kiln-dried logs skip the waiting and arrive reliably under 20%, which is why they are the sensible option if you have no space or patience for a seasoning stack.
Frequently asked questions
Is kiln-dried wood worth the extra cost?
If you cannot season your own, yes. Guaranteed low moisture means more heat per log, cleaner glass and less tar — which offsets a good part of the price difference through lower fuel use and less flue trouble.
How can I tell if a log is dry without a meter?
Dry logs are lighter than they look, show radial cracks in the end grain, have loose or missing bark and knock together with a sharp crack rather than a dull thud. A meter is still more reliable.
Can I burn wood from my own garden?
Yes, if it is untreated and properly seasoned. Split it, stack it and give it a year or two. Do not shortcut it because the tree came down last winter — standing dead wood is often wetter than people assume.
Burning well but still tarring up?
If good fuel is not fixing the deposits, the flue itself may be the issue — book a sweep and camera check.